Justice Karen Valihura will leave the Delaware Supreme Court this July, choosing not to seek another term when her current one expires. Her decision marks the end of an influential run on a bench that quietly shapes how corporate America governs itself.
Appointed in 2014, Valihura became a prominent and often decisive voice in shareholder litigation, frequently articulating positions that favored corporate boards navigating lawsuits from investors. In a letter to Governor Matt Meyer, she said she intends to step into a new phase of her professional life while continuing to serve the public in different ways.
Delaware’s Supreme Court occupies an outsized role in U.S. business law. With most publicly traded American companies incorporated in the state, its rulings ripple far beyond Dover, influencing boardroom behavior and merger strategy nationwide. The court is structured to preserve political balance, limiting either party to no more than three of its five seats, with justices serving 12-year terms.
Valihura, only the second woman to sit on the court, has said she never intended to linger beyond her full term. For her, the appeal lay in committing fully to the role and then stepping aside once the mandate was complete.
Her tenure coincided with growing scrutiny of Delaware’s dominance as the preferred home for corporate charters. Critics, including high-profile executives, have argued that shifting legal standards have tilted too far toward investor-driven litigation. Against that backdrop, Valihura authored several closely watched opinions, including a 2023 ruling that rejected claims that a major tech executive had steered his company into overpaying for a solar energy acquisition. Earlier this year, she also wrote a unanimous decision favoring the application of a more deferential “business judgment” standard in a dispute tied to a company’s plan to relocate its corporate home to Nevada—a ruling welcomed by businesses weighing similar moves.
Before joining the bench, Valihura spent 25 years practicing at a major Wall Street law firm, a background that informed her pragmatic approach to complex corporate disputes.
Her departure will give the governor an opportunity to shape the future direction of a court whose influence far exceeds its small size, at a moment when Delaware’s role as the nation’s corporate capital is under renewed debate.
